Free school applications higher in London

Applications to open free schools are three to four times higher in London, which already has the best schools in the country, than in the northeast and Yorkshire where school performance is at its worst, according to analysis by the Financial Times.

Introduced by education secretary Michael Gove soon after the coalition came to power, free schools are set up by parents, community groups or businesses, and remain independent of local authorities despite being state-funded. Ministers say that bringing in new providers will increase competition, and therefore improve standards in areas where provision is poor.

But the FT’s research, which breaks down the number of free school applications relative to the school-age population in each region, shows that while there have been three free school applications per 1,000 16-year-olds within Greater London, this figure drops to less than one application per 1,000 in the northeast. The East Midlands, northwest and Yorkshire and the Humber are particularly poorly served, both showing just over one free school per 1,000 school-age pupils.

The geographical imbalance is particularly significant given that FT analysis shows that London schools are the best performing in the country. Looking at attainment in GCSE English, maths and their best three other subjects, children in the capital can expect to do one grade better in four of the subjects than a child of similar socioeconomic background in Yorkshire and the Humber.

That advantage is even bigger for poorer children. A child eligible for free school meals in London can expect to attain three Cs and two Ds at GCSE. The equivalent figure for Yorkshire is two Ds and three Es. The FT’s research has also confirmed that the most successful academy chains providers, run by the Harris Federation and Ark schools, are concentrated in the capital.

Rick Muir, associate director for public services at the left-leaning Institute for Public Policy Research, lamented that free schools were a “London phenomenon”.

“The problem with free school policy is that because it relies on parental demand, it’s benefiting the parts of the country with the pushiest parents,” Mr Muir said.

“Wanting to establish a free school requires a certain amount of resource, whether that’s financial or based on free time . . . there may be some areas of the country where people are just prepared to stay with the school they’ve got.”

Sean Worth, senior adviser at the centre-right Policy Exchange think-tank and a former special adviser to David Cameron, disputes the idea that the underlying policy is a problem, but suggests that the government needs to “radically turbocharge” its reforms to increase take-up of free schools around the UK.

Mr Worth says ministers should consider creating “school enterprise zones” in areas where social and educational problems are most severe. “In [these zones], government should parachute in extra help to set up new schools, including from the private sector,” he said.

The FT’s analysis is based on data released last week by the Department for Education, which shows the location and sponsor details for all 839 of the applications to set up free schools in the first three years of the programme.

So far there are 80 free schools in the UK, but the department wants several hundred to be open by the 2015 election.

The New Schools Network, a charity that helps interested groups, is embarking on a roadshow around 10 cities, hoping to inspire more openings in areas such as Newcastle, Derby and Portsmouth.

The DfE said that demand for free schools was partly driven by pressure for more school places, so it was “not surprising” that London – where pressure is high – had more applications than other areas.

“Around 80 per cent of [the free schools around the UK] are in areas with a need for school places,” the department said.